3 Fun Ways to Achieve your Fitness Goals This New Year

by Cy Bernardi

The New Year is here! With it, there are another twelve months of activities and adventures to look forward to, as well as a whole new list of New Year’s Resolutions. Although each individual has their own unique goals that they work towards, 38% of New Year’s Resolutions are fitness related. While “fitness” is a broad topic that can range from weight loss to building muscle to running a marathon. There are several activities that are not only fun but also have a mix of strength and cardio that can help you to achieve a wide range of health goals. Parkour, indoor rock climbing, and ultimate frisbee are some of the best activities to participate in during the New Year because, unlike other sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball, etc. (which takes years of commitment on a team) you can jump in for the first time at any age or fitness level and have an enjoyable experience.

Parkour is one of the best activities to build strength and fitness for multiple reasons. First, since there are so many different skills within the sport such as vaults, climbing, swinging, flips, and more, beginners can start by learning basic moves that build endurance and open the door to more difficult skills later on. In this way, you never stop learning and can perform some impressive tricks after only a small amount of time taking classes. Second, parkour itself has a unique blend of aerobic and strength-related challenges that can help you achieve your fitness goals no matter what they are. The fast-paced nature of the sport builds endurance while the skills themselves can help to build muscle, making you stronger. The parkour gym MVMNTM is located in Concord, CA and offers classes for a variety of skill levels, the link to their website is below:

MVMNTM

Another activity that has many of the same attributes as parkour is indoor rock climbing. It builds strength and endurance in the same ways, but has some key differences. Rock climbing is mostly self-taught as opposed to being taught in classes, and there are dozens of different routes in every gym that range from beginner to advanced. This allows climbers to jump in and get to the top of the wall via an easy route even if they are brand new to the sport. Climbing can also build confidence because the participants will climb to heights of up to fifty five feet, and since ropes are used there is zero risk of getting injured. The largest chain of rock gyms in the San Francisco Bay Area is called Touchstone with eight locations. However, there are many more individual gyms that provide safe fun places to workout too. The link to the Touchstone locations is below:

– Touchstone Climbing

If you’re looking for a more social way to get in shape, ultimate frisbee (also known as ultimate) is a fun solution. With the recent growth in the sports popularity, almost every city has a youth ultimate frisbee team and adult pickup games are a common sight at parks on the weekends. One of the best parts of ultimate is that the rules are extremely simple. While, as with any sport, there are fancy throws and tricks to learn, you only need rudimentary knowledge of how to throw a frisbee to play. Furthermore, teams pair their players with one another based on their skill level to ensure that a seasoned veteran isn’t guarding against a rookie to make the game more enjoyable. This is one of the unique aspects of ultimate that make it so fun. If you’re interested in joining a team, it’s easy to sign up and it’s likely that your city has one already. If not, starting up a new team with some friends is always a possibility! A link to learn more about ultimate frisbee is below. 

Ultimate Frisbee HQ – Everything about Ultimate

With all of the different ways to get in shape in the New Year, it can be hard to find a fun and easy way to start working towards your goal. Parkour, climbing, and ultimate frisbee are some beginner-friendly ways to get started right away and jump in! Hopefully, one of these activities is right for you and helps you to get fit in a fun and enjoyable way.